People are always looking for something to be negative or overreact about during OTAs. In the case of the Patriots, Drake Maye tended to throw interceptions during New England's second day of organized team activities.
That news had fans and media alike overreacting, suggesting the Patriots' offense was stuck in the same old rut as last season, when the team finished at the bottom of the league in most major categories. But in the words of Aaron Rodgers, Patriot Nation needs to R-E-L-A-X.
Many factors go into things like that, one being that New England's secondary has a chance to be one of the best in the league thanks to the presence of Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis, and the other being the Patriots' offense, which has several new pieces, whether it be players or coaches.
There is no reason to panic about the Patriots offense just yet
According to Bleacher Report, the Patriots' offense's so-called inconsistencies during OTAs were labeled as one of their top 10 biggest OTA overreactions.
Let's look at this thing from both aforementioned angles.
For one, there are a lot of new faces on this Patriots' offense, from Stefon Diggs to Will Campbell to TreVeyon Henderson. Did we expect this thing to click right away, especially in voluntary practices without pads?
Maye had a strong rookie season even though it felt he was under duress during each of his dropbacks, and that he didn't have a top-tier wide receiver, which he and the Patriots now have in Diggs. Diggs was at practice Monday and looked sharp in drills.
The Patriots' offense will click. It's just not going to happen right away. That's why these offseason programs and training camp will help mold this unit into the machine that Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels know it can be. It's worth noting Maye only had one incompletion in that session after the picks.
The Patriots' defense is looking sharp so far this offseason
That brings us to our next point. On paper, the Patriots appear to have a defense that could be one of the best in the NFL. In a way, throwing a couple of interceptions in practice to guys like Gonzalez is going to help Maye get better. McDaniels has said he wants his players to learn from mistakes and not dwell on them.
That performance by Gonzalez in practice shows even more that he's going to be a superstar cornerback in this league, and that's something the Patriots need him to be, given the emphasis on passing around the league in this generation.
Two things can be true at the same time, and the facts that the Patriots' offense is slowly starting to click while the defense is championship-caliber are both on point in this situation. There's zero need to panic, given the regular season remains three months away.